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"Across Massachusetts, our bankers are listening to small business owners, ensuring they have the guidance and support to be successful in 2014."

Bank of America today released its fall 2013 Small
Business Owner Report, a semi-annual study exploring the concerns,
aspirations and perspectives of small business owners across the
country. The survey, which includes an oversampling of small business
owners in Boston, found that almost three in 10 (28 percent) Boston
respondents plan to hire over the next 12 months. Yet close to half (45
percent) say finding qualified employees is difficult.

Of those small business owners who plan on hiring new talent in 2014, a
quarter (26 percent) are staffing up for an increase in business. With
good talent difficult to find and small business owners looking to
increase business, they are also focused on keeping valuable employees.
The report found that the top actions small business owners in Boston
take to retain employees are offering flexible work arrangements (47
percent), a competitive salary (45 percent), and bonuses for high
performers (39 percent).

Nearly four in 10 Boston small business owners (38 percent) agree that
managing their staff is a source of great pride for them. But about half
(49 percent) admit to having some level of frustration with their
employees. The top frustrations are lack of proactive thinking (20
percent), poor time management (17 percent), and lack of accountability
(15 percent).

For more information on small business owners’ talent needs, click here.

“Boston small business owners are optimistic about their own success,
linking their future prosperity to keeping and hiring the right talent,”
said Anna Colton, Boston-based small business banker national sales
executive for Bank of America. “Across Massachusetts, our bankers are
listening to small business owners, ensuring they have the guidance and
support to be successful in 2014.”

Boston small business owners remain optimistic about the year ahead,
but continue to have concernsSmall business owners feel
optimistic about the future of their businesses – but not as optimistic
as this time last year. Almost half (47 percent) of those surveyed in
Boston expect their revenue to increase in the next twelve months, a ten
percent decrease from 2012.

In addition, the report found that almost one-third (30 percent) of
Boston small business owners believe their local economy will improve
over the next 12 months, compared to 45 percent nationally. However,
they are not quite as confident about the national economy. Only 28
percent of Boston respondents think that the national economy will
improve in the next 12 months, compared to 41 percent nationally.

Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of Boston small business owners are
concerned about the effectiveness of U.S. government leaders over the
next 12 months and 66 percent are concerned about health care costs.
Other concerns that may affect the success of their business in the next
12 months include:

Corporate tax rates – 61 percent.

Commodities prices (e.g., oil, gas) – 58 percent.

Strength of the U.S. dollar – 55 percent.

Consumer spending – 48 percent.

Interest rates – 48 percent.

Despite concern about health care costs, more than half (52 percent) of
Boston small business owners say their hiring plans will not change in
the next year due to new health care legislation. In addition, only 25
percent of Boston small business owners currently provide
health/wellness benefit packages, consistent with national levels (27
percent).

For more information on small business owners’ 2014 outlook, click here.

Holidays are “business as usual” for many small businessesNine
out of 10 (91 percent) small business owners in Boston think Black
Friday has little or no impact on their bottom line, and 89 percent
think Cyber Monday is similarly overhyped.

Maintaining a work-life balance during the last months of the year does
not appear to be an issue for many Boston small business owners as only
one-third (33 percent) report working longer hours during the holidays.

Boston small business owners are generous when thanking their employees
during the holidays. The most popular perks are:

Awarding salary bonuses – 47 percent.

Hosting a holiday party – 46 percent.

Giving gifts – 37 percent.

Offering flexible work hours during the holidays – 36 percent.

Closing the office during holidays – 35 percent.

Only 16 percent do not intend to offer holiday-related perks this year,
consistent with 14 percent of small business owners who said that last
year.

For more information on small business owners’ holiday outlook, click here.

Bank of America has continued to lend actively to small businesses
across the U.S. and Massachusetts. Through September of this year, Bank
of America has extended more than $254 million in new credit across
Massachusetts to small businesses – an increase of 33 percent over the
same period last year. This has helped enable Bank of America to exceed
its national
small business lending pledge to the White House and the U.S. Small
Business Administration.

For an in-depth look at the attributes of the nation’s small business
owners, read the entire fall 2013 Bank of America Small
Business Owner Report. An infographic with highlights of the report
can be found here.

About the Bank of America Small Business Owner ReportBraun
Research conducted the Bank of America Small Business Owner Report
survey by phone between September 12 and October 3, 2013, on behalf of
Bank of America. Braun contacted a nationally representative sample of
1,000 small business owners in the United States with annual revenue
between $100,000 and $4,999,999 and employing between 2 and 99
employees. In addition, 300 small business owners were also surveyed in
nine target markets: Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., New York,
Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Miami. The margin of error
for the national sample is +/- 3.1 percent and the margin of error for
the oversampled markets is +/ 5.7 percent, with both reported at a 95
percent confidence level.

The Braun Research survey results conducted on behalf of Bank of America
and interpretations in this release are not intended, nor implied, to be
a substitute for the professional advice received from a qualified
accountant, attorney or financial advisor. Always seek the advice of an
accountant, attorney or financial advisor with any questions you may
have regarding the decisions you undertake as a result of reviewing the
information contained herein. Nothing in this report should be construed
as either advice or legal opinion.

Bank of AmericaBank of America is one of the world's largest
financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and
middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of
banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk
management products and services. We serve approximately 51 million
consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,200
retail banking offices and approximately 16,200 ATMs and award-winning
online banking with 30 million active users and more than 14 million
mobile users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth
management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment
banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the
world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately
3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative,
easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients
through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America
Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.